Certain types of digital wireless phones have been known to be incompatible with hearing aids and other products that assist the hearing impaired. When a customer using a hearing aid or similar device places the mobile phone next to his or her ear, electromagnetic fields produced by the phone can interfere with the operation of the hearing aid. In some cases, this interference can produce buzzing, squealing or other audible effects that can be annoying and uncomfortable to the user.
Recently, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted hearing aid compatibility (HAC) regulations that require certain mobile phones to be compatible with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Generally speaking, these regulations limit the amount of electromagnetic energy that a phone can produce within a defined physical space that is likely to come into close proximity to a hearing aid or similar device. The FCC HAC requirements for the 1900 MHz band, for example, stipulate that certain phones must avoid electric fields in excess of 38.5 dB-V/meter or magnetic fields in excess of −11.9 dB-A/meter in the spaces closest to the device's earpiece or speaker. The HAC requirements therefore reduce interference between a mobile phone and a hearing aid by limiting the electrical (“E”) and magnetic (“H”) fields that can be produced in close proximity to the hearing aid or similar device.
In view of the new government requirements and the desire to accommodate hearing impaired customers, it would be beneficial to provide mobile devices and techniques that reduce interference with hearing aids, cochlear implants and the like. It may also be beneficial to adjust the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile devices for reasons other than HAC compatibility. Other features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.